Jennifer Meeropol is the granddaughter of Ethel and Julius Rosenberg and the daughter of RFC Founder, Robert Meeropol. Jenn became the Executive Director of the RFC on September 1, 2013. Prior posts on this page were written by Robert (unless otherwise noted), and represent his opinions, which are not necessarily shared by the RFC.
On Monday, April 22nd, the RFC lost one old friend and I found out about the passing of another. They are both on my mind.
During the summer of 1990 my wife Elli and I, along with a small group that evolved into the RFC’s initial Board of Directors, planned to launch our granting fund. We arranged for a “Kick-off Benefit Concert” that was scheduled to take place in October. I utilized my national contacts to line up the performers. Richie Havens was one of the first people I contacted and he graciously agreed to perform for free.
It has been a decade since the RFC made its first grants to support the children of activists trying to force the U.S. Navy from using the tiny Puerto Rican island of Vieques as a bombing range. RFC Board Member Rafael Rodriguez (now Board Chair) became actively engaged in the struggle. The RFC has been supporting the children of targeted Vieques activists ever since.
For the second week in a row I am compelled to write about someone represented by the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR), and more particularly by my daughter, Rachel Meeropol, who is a senior staff attorney there.
Federal Judge Joseph Tauro put yet another dent in our First Amendment rights two weeks ago when he dismissed a suit brought by five animal rights activists. The activists had claimed that the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act (AETA) made them fearful of protesting in public against animal abuse committed by corporations, and therefore, impinged upon their First Amendment rights. The law states that anyone can be prosecuted if their actions cause property loss to an animal-related business or laboratory, or who
Normally, I don’t use my blog solely to reprint material posted by others, but both the importance of Bradley Manning’s case and the connection I feel to it compels me to do so in this instance. A post from Rootsaction.org follows below:
Whistleblower Bradley Manning has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, and he should receive it.